Most Shared

Making the Case for Basket-Weave Accessories Beyond the Beach

Not since a young Jane Birkin was photographed carrying her trusty wicker bag on the streets of Paris in the ’60s have woven accessories had such a moment. Over the past few seasons, they’ve been stealthily appearing everywhere from Fashion Week to Instagram, and in nearly every incarnation, too—from sturdy little cross-body pellet cases to floppy double-handled circle totes to super-structured bamboo clutches. And it’s not just bags that are getting the woven treatment; braided materials have replaced the cork and wood on platform wedges and block heels, too.

While the styles are a no-brainer in balmy weather, the chic thing to do these days is to wear them off the beach—much like Ms. Birkin did. Because to wear them on the city streets with everyday clothes (or even better, a cozy shearling coat!) is to convey a certain setting-be-dammed irreverence mixed with an eternal optimism; a small nod to the inevitable glow of warmer days ahead; a cheery reminder that, yes, summer will most certainly, eventually, come.

And there’s no real trick to getting it right—other than to just do what must be done when wearing every other interesting ensemble: Own it. As the poet Kate Parfet, our model in the photo above, says, it is really all about “letting go of the need to control.”

Here, a selection of modern-day woven bag and shoe pairings culled from the current Sam Edelman collection to help you do just that.